HOUSEHOLD INSECTS 
7 
material. Many times they will be found in the cracks between the floor 
and the base or-in cracks in the floor. 
The adult insect is very seldom seen and recognized. It is a minute 
beetle about Tk of an inch in length. The background is almost black in 
color, spotted with white. A slightly reddish line extends down the middle 
of the back. When these beetles mature in the house, they fly to the 
windows in their attempt to get outside and may often be captured there. 
In the springtime, they may often be found in this situation. They feed 
upon the pollen of flowers such as spirea, wild cherry, and other plants. 
The beetles should not be mistaken for lady bird beetles which are fre- 
quently found in the house in the spring. The lady bird beetles are very 
much larger and usually more lightly colored and in addition are beneficial, 
feeding upon plant lice. They should never be killed. 
This buffalo moth, as it has been incorrectly termed, was introduced 
into this country from Europe previous to the year 1869. In Europe, it is 
known particularly as a pest in museums where it feeds upon the dried 
bodies of insects and other specimens in the museum. It is not known 
there as a pest of carpets or woolen goods, but in this country has assumed 
that role and has spread westward from the Atlantic coast through the 
Mississippi valley. 
The life history is something as follows: The beetles lay tiny whitish 
eggs upon the clothing or other material where the grubs will feed. In 
about ten days, these hatch and the grubs feed voraciously upon the 
material. The length of life of the grubs depends upon the temperature 
and the food supply which is present; cold weather and lack of food retard- 
ing their development. When they are full-grown, they pupate inside of 
the old skin of the grub, this eventually splitting down the back and 
finally the beetle emerges. There is probably only one generation each 
year in this latitude. 
Where the insect has become established in a house, it requires most 
heroic efforts to kill them out. Careful attention should be given to floor 
coverings. Polished floors together with frequent removal of the rugs 
for a thorough beating and cleaning out of doors, leaving them in the 
sunshine as long as possible, will usually prevent carpet beetles establishing 
themselves in these places. If they attack a carpet, it should be thoroughly 
sprayed with gasoline. Where they are found hiding in cracks in the floor 
or beneath the base, a thing which occurs particularly in closets where 
woolen clothing has been hanging, the floors should be thoroughly scrubbed 
with soap and water. All the dust should be cleaned out of the cracks 
which should then be thoroughly sprayed or soaked with gasoline or 
kerosene. If possible, cracks in the floor should be closed up with plaster 
of Paris or in some other way, to prevent their serving as hiding places 
in the future. Fumes of sulphur are said to be destructive to carpet beetles 
if burned in the proportion of two pounds to the thousand cubic feet of 
space in the room. The room of course must be tightly closed and' all 
openings closed up so that the fumes will not escape. It should be remem- 
